Copper, Uranium and REE Mineralisation in an Exhumed Oil Reservoir, Southwest Orkney, Scotland

Eleanor A. Heptinstall; John Parnell; Joseph G.T. Armstrong; Andrea Schito; Temitope O. Akinsanpe

doi:10.3390/geosciences13050151

Copper, Uranium and REE Mineralisation in an Exhumed Oil Reservoir, Southwest Orkney, Scotland

Eleanor A. Heptinstall, John Parnell, Joseph G.T. Armstrong^*, Andrea Schito, Temitope O. Akinsanpe

^*Corresponding author for this work

Obafemi Awolowo University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Copper, uranium, and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation occurs in hydrocarbon-bearing Devonian continental sandstones in southwest Orkney, Scotland. The aeolian Yesnaby Sandstone Formation and fluvial Harra Ebb Sandstone Formation were mineralised following oil emplacement. The REE-bearing APS mineral florencite is particularly associated with bituminous nodules, many of which contain brannerite. Subsequently hydrothermal copper and other sulphides, and barite, further mineralised the oil reservoir at a temperature of ~190 °C. Oil was mobilised through mineralised fractures at this stage. Biodegradation of the oil occurred later, following the Carboniferous-Permian uplift. The occurrence confirms that Cu-APS mineralisation is possible in relatively low-temperature regimes in sedimentary basins.

Original language	English
Article number	151
Journal	Geosciences (Switzerland)
Volume	13
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13050151
Publication status	Published - 20 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
J.G.T.A. is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant NE/T003677/1).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.

Data Availability Statement

All data and results presented within this article are provided in the text and associated figures/tables.

Keywords

APS minerals
biodegradation
bitumen
Cu-U-REE mineralisation
florencite
hydrocarbons
Orcadian Basin

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10.3390/geosciences13050151

Heptinstall_etal_G_Copper_Uranium_And_VOR
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Final published version, 15.3 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Copper, Uranium and REE Mineralisation in an Exhumed Oil Reservoir, Southwest Orkney, Scotland",

abstract = "Copper, uranium, and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation occurs in hydrocarbon-bearing Devonian continental sandstones in southwest Orkney, Scotland. The aeolian Yesnaby Sandstone Formation and fluvial Harra Ebb Sandstone Formation were mineralised following oil emplacement. The REE-bearing APS mineral florencite is particularly associated with bituminous nodules, many of which contain brannerite. Subsequently hydrothermal copper and other sulphides, and barite, further mineralised the oil reservoir at a temperature of ~190 °C. Oil was mobilised through mineralised fractures at this stage. Biodegradation of the oil occurred later, following the Carboniferous-Permian uplift. The occurrence confirms that Cu-APS mineralisation is possible in relatively low-temperature regimes in sedimentary basins.",

keywords = "APS minerals, biodegradation, bitumen, Cu-U-REE mineralisation, florencite, hydrocarbons, Orcadian Basin",

author = "Heptinstall, {Eleanor A.} and John Parnell and Armstrong, {Joseph G.T.} and Andrea Schito and Akinsanpe, {Temitope O.}",

note = "Funding Information: J.G.T.A. is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant NE/T003677/1). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 by the authors.",

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T1 - Copper, Uranium and REE Mineralisation in an Exhumed Oil Reservoir, Southwest Orkney, Scotland

AU - Heptinstall, Eleanor A.

AU - Parnell, John

AU - Armstrong, Joseph G.T.

AU - Schito, Andrea

AU - Akinsanpe, Temitope O.

PY - 2023/5/20

Y1 - 2023/5/20

N2 - Copper, uranium, and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation occurs in hydrocarbon-bearing Devonian continental sandstones in southwest Orkney, Scotland. The aeolian Yesnaby Sandstone Formation and fluvial Harra Ebb Sandstone Formation were mineralised following oil emplacement. The REE-bearing APS mineral florencite is particularly associated with bituminous nodules, many of which contain brannerite. Subsequently hydrothermal copper and other sulphides, and barite, further mineralised the oil reservoir at a temperature of ~190 °C. Oil was mobilised through mineralised fractures at this stage. Biodegradation of the oil occurred later, following the Carboniferous-Permian uplift. The occurrence confirms that Cu-APS mineralisation is possible in relatively low-temperature regimes in sedimentary basins.

AB - Copper, uranium, and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation occurs in hydrocarbon-bearing Devonian continental sandstones in southwest Orkney, Scotland. The aeolian Yesnaby Sandstone Formation and fluvial Harra Ebb Sandstone Formation were mineralised following oil emplacement. The REE-bearing APS mineral florencite is particularly associated with bituminous nodules, many of which contain brannerite. Subsequently hydrothermal copper and other sulphides, and barite, further mineralised the oil reservoir at a temperature of ~190 °C. Oil was mobilised through mineralised fractures at this stage. Biodegradation of the oil occurred later, following the Carboniferous-Permian uplift. The occurrence confirms that Cu-APS mineralisation is possible in relatively low-temperature regimes in sedimentary basins.

KW - APS minerals

KW - biodegradation

KW - bitumen

KW - Cu-U-REE mineralisation

KW - florencite

KW - hydrocarbons

KW - Orcadian Basin

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SN - 2076-3263

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ER -

Copper, Uranium and REE Mineralisation in an Exhumed Oil Reservoir, Southwest Orkney, Scotland

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

Access to Document

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